Anti-government protests broke out across Egypt Sept. 20, with thousands joining demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi—a rare show of defiance since he established his dictatorship four years ago. Demonstrators filled Cairo's Tahrir Square, center of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Protesters also gathered in Alexandria, Suez and Gharbiya. Videos posted on social media showed demonstrators chanting "Rise up, fear not, Sisi must go" and, reviving the slogan of the 2011 Arab Revolution, "the people demand the downfall of the regime." Hundreds of protesters were finally dispersed from Tahrir Square by the riot police.

The protests came after prominent Egyptian real estate developer Mohamed Ali, now exiled in Spain, posted videos purporting to document corruption by Sisi and his ruling circle. Ali called on Egypt's Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki to remove Sisi. (MEE, Al Jazeera)

The protests broke out one day after Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, the first ruler ousted by the Arab Revolution in January 2011, died in exile in Saudi Arabia. (MEO)